Connacht Kingdom
The Connacht Kingdom is a civilization based in the Orion Arm. Connacht consists of roughly 250 species. Connachta, despite having hundreds of vastly different species, has low levels of ethnic tensions, giving it one of the lowest crime rates of any civilization ever recorded. Etymology Khiondrezna was the former name of the Connacht Kingdom. Khiondrezna's name is atypical within the Milky Way Galaxy. It does not have any preceding or succeding words, it is merely "Khiondrezna," rendered in the Khiondreznan language, spoken nearly completely throughout the society, as "Kvinntvesczni" kviɲ̥tⱱɛʒnyɪ. Most Khiondreznan civilians don't have any knowledge of the true meaning of it, as it just simply is - there is no deeper meaning to it to them. Khiondrezna is the most common name for it, however, the official name of the country is the Connacht Kingdom. It is theorized the name stemmed from the two proto-Leikniren words "Kvairn" kvəʀn, meaning "Stellar" and "Drazkni" dʀaʒkni, meaning "Circles." However, this hypothesis is not confirmed and much is left to speculation. The term "Khiondreznan Kingdom" evolved post-2395 Emirates schism, as an overarching term defining most of the society as a 'Kingdom' - which it highly resembles. Demographics Species Evelynir Evelynir are the most common species out of all the Connachtans, making up about 30% of the population. They are bipedal, around the size of typical human beings, and covered in thick fur ranging in shades of blue to a red-tinted grey, as well as making up the entirety of the greyscale. They have a very developed sensory system, being able to pick up very faint scent trails and very large ranges of light wavelengths. They do not have the ability to echolocate, contrary to popular belief. They are also roughly the strength of weaker human beings, but this is made up for by their almost complete silence in movement. Note that Evelynir is an Emirates-given name, their true name is Ellindura(ns). The suffix -nir, in both Connachtan and Emirates languages means 'people.' Ramehildt Ramehildt are the second most common species in Connachta, making up around 20% of the population. They co-evolved with Evelynir - on the same planet, even - which makes them great working partners, as they both cover for each other's weaknesses. While Evelynir are not very strong, Ramehildt make up for this by being of much larger build than most humans. And while Ramehildt are not always the most intelligent in decisions, the Evelynir can cover for that by being of fairly high intellectual capability. Leiknir Connachta also contains Leiknir. See the Voxviem Emirates' page for more information. Religion Unlike many civilizations within the 25th century, the Connacht Kingdom has a very prevalent religious demographic, amounting to almost 60% of the population. Haelism The most common religion by far within the Kingdom is Haelism, a sort of amalgamation religion made of several traditionally Connachtan spiritualities and many native Milky Way Galaxy traditions. It bears resemblance to Abrahamic religions in the presence of many historical figures, but it places far less emphasis on the origin of the universe and the afterlife as many traditional religions have. Instead, it focuses on the search for self-realization and the ability of the individual to make a change. It emphasizes more the deep thought about the purpose of existence in the universe, but bears a more cynical side - one of the central beliefs is that life is a natural part of existence, and is not special in any way, shape or form, and life itself is an artificial definition. The final quirk about Haelism is that it also holds a religious leader - the incumbent ruling monarch of the Connacht Kingdom. Before the adoption of a constitutional monarchical system, the king or queen trended towards being a sort of puppeteer for the nation. However, in modern times, this is no longer the case, despite the king or queen holding a mild amount of political influence (especially towards domestic policy). History Connachtan history is often marked by long periods of brutal war followed by peaceful times. The most recent of these conflicts was the Emirates-Khiondrezna Crisis, which destroyed several hundred planets within the Orion Arm, reducing them to little but radioactive wasteland. It also resulted in Connachta's colonization of the Milky Way galaxy, and their flight from Triangulum. First Triangulum War Khiondrezna was founded around 2153 by Konig Fjalla and his followers as a commerce group within the Voxviem Empire, the precursor to the Emirates. It gradually gained followers and was allowed initial status of independence, but it had quickly monopolized on most of the Empire's trade routes and overall caused the economy to tumble. This resulted in a short but quick war known as the First Triangulum War, where the Voxviem Empire seized critical Khiondreznan network hubs within Triangulum, with much resistance on Khiondrezna's part. There were roughly 150 casualties and the condemnation of Khiondrezna as an independent entity. "The Long Years" Khiondrezna and the Empire alike sunk into a long technological and cultural depression, mostly fuelled by the chaos and resulting economic downturn from the First Triangulum War. The Empire had placed multiple economic sanctions on the budding Khiondreznan Kingdom, but later the Glorious Emirates Revolution occurred, leading the sanctions to be lifted and Khiondrezna to once again become an independent nation. Their employees and citizens flocked to the coreworlds of Triangulum and began strip-mining, slowly regaining their strength and economic potential in the light of a chaotic Empire-Emirates transitory state on the outside. There were few incursions between the two nations, as both lacked the motivation and military strength to actually try to recapture lost and gained territory. This long period was named "The Long Years," as it mostly consisted of recovery and reconstruction, as well as ongoing development of independent cultures and technology. Second Triangulum War The Second Triangulum War occurred between 2310 and 2320. It was kickstarted by the slowly corrupting Emirates government attacking Khiondreznan borderworlds. Not much is known about the period as very little information remains from an Emirates anti-intelligence sweep. However, it is known that there were around 500,000 casualties and 25 billion OAC in damages. It was by far the most destructive war occurring directly in Triangulum. Recession Khiondrezna, after the Second Triangulum War, was forced to piece itself together and fade into relative obscurity. It maintained several colonies within remote sectors of Triangulum, but otherwise was inert and benign. It managed to bolster its profits and value to a significant point, but geared itself towards self-defense from Emirates-origin militias and pirates. Third Triangulum War and Emirates-Khiondrezna Crisis ''Main article: ''Emirates-Khiondrezna Crisis The Third Triangulum War occurred between 2375 and 2380, devolving into the Emirates-Khiondrezna Crisis (EKC) by 2384. Khiondrezna had recaptured a significant amount of lost territory in the conflict, but the Emirates government had become so corrupted it resorted to using nuclear and chemical weapons as opposed to conventional warfare to further its conquest of Triangulum. This prompted the newly formed SYNESPOL, Khiondrezna's central intelligence and law-maintaining agency, to hijack three mass accelerators as part of the Emirates' program to colonize the Milky Way. They quickly sent roughly 400 billion travelers and military units over, armed with some of the most devastating weapons of mass destruction seen in active use. They launched a surprise attack on the Emirates colonies within the Orion and Carina-Sagittarius Arm, quickly beginning a desperate struggle for survival by both factions. The Emirates responded by malignantly expanding into surrounding regions, attacking Earth and multiple other major societies in the process. SYNESPOL was dissolved in 2415 by democratic election, to be replaced with local police forces. By the end of the conflict, over 1.2 trillion casualties were incurred, the largest war known in recent times in the Milky Way. Most of these were Emirates civilians. ''See also: ''The Voxviem Emirates Language The Connachtan Language is unusual within the Milky Way galaxy, as it is one of the few extraterrestrial alphabets that was designed by humans. The Cubikon Capitalists Union (CCU) constructed Connachtan/Khiondreznan in 2390 as a response to growing ethnic and lingual tensions among the hundreds of species within the Kingdom. They based it off of Scandinavian, Eastern, and Central European languages in such a way that it was very easy to learn for many species, as well as as easy to pronounce as possible for many different mouth shapes and sizes. Its script is unique and consists of hybrid Leikniren characters and Latin characters, with several unique ones thrown in as well. It is known for being readable, and additionally, easy to make neon signs out of due to the hard, angular shapes. Additionally, in Western Connachta (primarily the border with the Orion Federation,) Chinese is an emerging popular language, such to the point that the Far West Connachtan dialect has in some areas ceased to use the constructed script and instead opted for adopted Chinese characters. This makes it such that native Chinese speakers can read, but not pronounce Far West Connachtan. Culture ]] Connachta's culture is reminiscent of a mixture between typical Scandinavian culture (of which their language sounds like) with some alien elements. Connachtan culture is very reliant on a sense of independence, liberty, and freedom, which is something they hold very dear to themselves due to the past bloody war with Emirates. Generally Connachta colonizes colder planets due to the makeup of the majority of its species, that being that most of them are suited for colder and wetter climates rather than hot and dry ones. This has caused most Connachtan interiors to consist of warm colors and energy-efficiency as opposed to opulence. Lifestyle Connachtans do not often find much time for leisure or art, as it is not a highly-valued thing in their culture. However, morale is very high and the people of Connachta are very tightly-knit, with barely any instance of clinical depression. Economy Connachta is currently running as a post-capitalist pre-socialist republic, most economics relying on large-corporation capitalism. There are few small businesses as most services are either handled by a handful of large companies or the government. There are, however, multiple highly prominent companies, including MMRS and Grayson. Military Connachta's military is known as the Reikstjarna Konigskrigen (RKK, Royal Planetary Military). It employs high diversity and a high variety of technology, but is significantly smaller than most due to Connachta's economically-centered policies. It has a large reserve capacity, due to millions of prior members from the Emirates-Khiondrezna Crisis remaining in reserve service - however, it has a significantly smaller active population due to current peacetime. Planetside Forces (RHDS) The Reikstjarna her dir-Sveitir (RHDS, The Planetside Forces) is Connachta's ground army. They make up the majority of Connachta's active-service members and employ a wide variety of technological advancements, including mechanized infantry and non-organic personnel. They often provide planetary garrisons to significant colonies. Infantry undergo extensive training and exercise upon enlistment. They have an active service population of 512,230,000 personnel and a reserve of 810,000,000. Copyright Information Rights to Leiknir concept art go to Iontoon (Mark Heuer) Rights to RKK concept art go to AOPaul Rights to posters go to Paul Sizer City image is a painting by the late Chesley Bonestell MMRS logo is from Blacklight: Retribution, owned by Perfect World Entertainment Connachtan flag is a derivative of the Macedonian National Flag and as such is public domain. The copyright holders of any respective artwork on this page may request to have it modified or removed at any time. Please don't skin me alive. -- Polytechnic Category:Factions Category:South-Galactic Lore